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Otterbein University programs attract and support low-income students

Mary Edwards of The Columbus Dispatch recently took a look at Otterbein's efforts to attract and support low-income students:

Otterbein University has found a simple formula for more success with first-generation college students: Offer more financial aid, and they’ll come; give them extra support, and they’ll stay.

In recent decades, the Westerville school drew only a handful of students each year from Columbus City Schools. The university set out to change that in 2013 by increasing need-based aid for students from the district. The campus of about 3,000 students increased its enrollment of graduates from the Columbus district from six freshmen in fall 2013 to 30 the following year. The freshman class of 2015 had 34 Columbus graduates; last fall’s new class had 28.